Customs sets new rules for the entry of tourists' private vehicles

The National Customs Service of Ecuador (SENAE) established the new rules for the entry, stay, and exit of private vehicles used by tourists through resolution SENAE-SENAE-2026-0079-RE, published in the Official Registry Third Supplement No. 401 on October 30, 2026. The manual maintains the exemption from tax payments, but ties the vehicle’s term to the traveler’s immigration permit and enables seizure and definitive abandonment when these are breached. The resolution was signed by the general director Luis Eduardo Vascones Boloña on October 16, 2026, in Guayaquil.

The General Manual for the Customs Exception Regime for Private Vehicles of Tourists replaces Resolution SENAE-DGN-2016-0785-RE, published in the Special Edition of the Official Registry No. 936 on March 8, 2017, which only covered Ecuadorians residing abroad. The update responds to the reforms introduced to the Organic Code of Production, Trade and Investment and its regulations, and is harmonized with Decision 968 of the Andean Community Commission, published in Official Gazette No. 5807 on October 1, 2026, which replaces Decision 884 regarding the entry, stay, and temporary exit of private vehicles used by tourists. It is further supported by Decision 848 of the same commission (Official Gazette No. 3699, July 26, 2019), whose article 56 refers the matter to national and community legislation.

The invoked regulatory framework includes articles 167, 143, and 123 of the Organic Code of Production, Trade and Investment, articles 219 to 225 of its regulations, and the bilateral transit agreements signed with Peru (Official Registry Supplement No. 137, February 26, 1999) and Colombia (Official Registry No. 169, January 16, 2012). The general director’s authority to issue manuals is stated in article 216 of the same code, and his appointment was formalized by Executive Decree No. 483 on August 26, 2026.

Terms linked to immigration permits and up to 90 days for residents abroad

The manual distinguishes between two situations to authorize the temporary stay of the vehicle, which in all cases is granted free of import duties and taxes:

• Foreign tourist: the term of the regime is equal to that granted by the Migration Authority; it is only extended if that authority extends the stay and the request is submitted within the initial term.
• Ecuadorian citizen with habitual residence in another country: up to 90 calendar days, upon presentation of the official document proving residence abroad, extendable for an equal period if the need to remain is justified and it is declared that they will not settle in Ecuador.
• Non-owner beneficiary: the term cannot exceed the validity of the rental agreement or the document proving possession of the vehicle.
• Private use maritime vehicles of tourists: may apply once for a stay term of up to one year.

The temporary absence of the tourist does not suspend the vehicle’s term of stay. If a cause of fortuitous event or force majeure prevents the mandatory exit, the beneficiary must notify the customs authority, report the location of the vehicle and the person responsible for its custody, and may grant power of attorney to a third party solely to remove it from the country.

Documentary requirements and enabled crossings

Article 8 lists what the beneficiary must present to the customs administration:

• National identification document of the registered tourists.
• Permit granted by the competent migration authority.
• Valid driver’s license of the tourist responsible for the regime, in physical or electronic format.
• Registration, ownership card, or equivalent valid document of the vehicle.
• Lease agreement or notarized or apostilled document from the owner, with a determined term, when the beneficiary is not the owner.
• Goods and accessories on board limited to those for personal use or consumption, for non-commercial purposes.

Entry and exit must be carried out through enabled crossings or places and under customs control, although any enabled customs office in the country and the transport of the vehicle by another means of transportation are permitted. The tourist is obliged to inform the technical operator of the route they plan to travel within the national territory. The manual regulates three operational documents: the Sworn Tourist Declaration (DJT), the Single Temporary Entry Document (DUIT) with Peru and Colombia, and the Vehicle Entry Certificate (CIV) of the binational scheme with Peru. The vehicles are constituted as a guarantee by operation of law in favor of customs.

Retention, definitive abandonment, and seizure

Once non-compliance is confirmed, customs will notify the beneficiary and the competent authorities according to the type of vehicle—maritime, air, or land—so that they may collaborate in its location and retention, with expenses borne by the beneficiary. Once the vehicle is retained, the affected party has one non-extendable month to justify the non-compliance; if the justification is accepted, the District Director orders the return, and the beneficiary must conclude the regime within 48 hours of notification. Without justification or regularization, definitive abandonment is declared in accordance with Article 143 of the Organic Code of Production, Trade and Investment.

In cases of vehicles that entered by evading customs controls, they shall be seized and, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility or international organizations, the State of presumed origin shall be notified, which has 90 days to claim the vehicle; once this period has elapsed without a response, the administrative forfeiture provided for in Article 123 of the same code is applied.

The manual is effective from its publication in the Official Registry, that is, from October 30, 2026, and its transitory provision grants six months to the National Directorate of Continuous Improvement and Information Technologies to update procedures and systems. The change affects foreign tourists, Ecuadorians residing outside the country, carriers, and border operators: the term is no longer calculated autonomously, but rather depends on the migration record, and the obligation to declare the route turns land control into a filter with direct patrimonial consequences for the vehicle.

Source: Official Registry, Third Supplement No. 401, Friday, October 30, 2026, p. 30 et seq. (official reference: SENAE-SENAE-2026-0079-RE).